Instructions

ZOOM IN by clicking on the page. A slider will appear, allowing you to adjust your zoom level. Return to the original size by clicking on the page again.

MOVE the page around when zoomed in by dragging it.

ADJUST the zoom using the slider on the top right.

ZOOM OUT by clicking on the zoomed-in page.

SEARCH by entering text in the search field and click on "In This Issue" or "All Issues" to search the current issue or the archive of back issues
respectively.
.

PRINT by clicking on thumbnails to select pages, and then press the
print button.

SHARE this publication and page.

ROTATE PAGE allows you to turn pages 90 degrees clockwise or counterclockwise.Click on the page to return to the original orientation. To zoom in on a rotated page, return the page to its original orientation, zoom in, and
then rotate it again.

CONTENTS displays a table of sections with thumbnails and descriptions.

ALL PAGES displays thumbnails of every page in the issue. Click on
a page to jump.

A18
business
Guardian www.guardian.co.tt Friday, October 9, 2015
HONG KONG---China s foreign
exchange reserves shrank again last
month in a sign the country s central
bank continues to support the curren-
cy s exchange rate after a surprise deval-
uation. But the smaller size of Septem-
ber s fall indicates receding pressure on
the currency.
Central bank data show that the
reserves fell by US$43.3 billion in Sep-
tember after declining a record US$93.9
billion the previous month.
That still leaves China with the world s
biggest hoard of foreign currency reserves,
at US$3.514 trillion.
Beijing s shock move to devalue the
tightly controlled yuan by more than two
per cent on August 11 roiled global finan-
cial markets and fueled bets by currency
traders that it would fall further.
The central bank responded by selling
off dollars to ease downward pressure
on the exchange rate.
The devaluation s officially stated goal
was to make China s currency, which is
also known as the renminbi, more market
oriented. But the timing of the move,
coming after months of dismal economic
data and stock market declines, raised
concerns that Beijing was also trying to
give its struggling exporters a price advan-
tage. Analysts said the smaller decline in
reserves last month indicates that pressure
is easing somewhat on the currency.
"It appears that as expectations for a
rate hike by the US Fed have been pushed
back and Chinese growth concerns have
receded somewhat, capital outflows out
of China have eased," said Julian Evans-
Pritchard of Capital Economics.
"As a result, the PBOC has been able
to continue to hold the renminbi stable
while also stepping back from FX inter-
vention."
Beijing steadily amassed its foreign
exchange currency stockpile over the past
two decades through buying dollars to
prevent the yuan from rising too fast
against the greenback and hurting Chi-
nese exporters. (AP)
China foreign exchange
reserves fall US$43.3b
LONDON---The Bank of England has
kept its main interest rate at a record-
low 0.5 per cent as policymakers
remained wary about global economic
uncertainty.
Minutes released alongside the deci-
sion yesterday show that only one mem-
ber of the nine-strong Monetary Policy
Committee, Ian McCafferty, voted for
an increase. The minutes to the October
6 meeting cited his concerns over
domestic cost pressures.
With inflation at zero per cent, pol-
icymakers have little incentive to raise
rates---as the bank s target is two per
cent. Economists say the bank will follow
the Federal Reserve s lead when it comes
to rates. The Fed is widely expected to
raise rates in December.
Capital Economics chief UK econ-
omist Vicky Redwood says it "still seems
unlikely" the Bank of England will raise
rates before the second quarter next
year. (AP)
Bank of England keeps interest rates unchanged
LIMA, Peru---International
Monetary Fund chief Christine
Lagarde said failure to take
urgent action on global warming
will condemn humanity to the
same fate as the Peruvian poul-
try that so many delegates to the
group s annual meeting are
enjoying this week in a country
famed for its cuisine.
"If we collectively chicken out
of this we ll all turn into chickens
and we ll all be fried, grilled,
toasted and roasted," said Lagarde.
Her comments came in a panel
discussion involving World Bank
president Jim Yong Kim, UN cli-
mate talks executive secretary
Christiana Figueres and econo-
mist and climate expert Nicholas
Stern.
Lagarde and Kim argued
strongly for removing subsidies
on fossil fuels that are worth more
than US$5 trillion a year and on
the immediate need for carbon
taxes so that the burning of fossil
fuels can fund clean energy
replacements.
But they both acknowledged
it s a big challenge.
"We have been trying to help
countries remove fuel subsidies,"
said Kim, which inevitably means
higher prices at the gas pump.
"Politicians don t like it when taxi
drivers and truck drivers block
the streets."
Questioned about whether the
world s governments can make
the necessary shift to clean energy
to prevent catastrophic climate
change, Figueres said that while
pledges from 146 countries sub-
mitted ahead of December s cli-
mate talks in Paris are not enough
to bring greenhouse gases down
to acceptable levels, she believes
closing the gap is "entirely
doable."
The world s finance ministers
and central bankers were begin-
ning to arrive in Lima for the joint
annual meetings of the World
Bank and IMF that run through
Sunday.
The lending institutions hold
their annual meetings away from
their Washington headquarters
every three years. The last time
such a meeting was held In Latin
America was in 1967, in Rio de
Janeiro. (AP)
IMF chief: We're cooked if
we fail on climate change
International Monetary Find (IMF) managing
director Christine Lagarde listens as World
Bank president Jim Yong Kim addresses a
forum in Lima, Peru, during the annual
meetings of the World Bank Group and IMF.
AP PHOTO